A handful of North American journalists were invited to take part in a phone interview with the young British superstar, Road & Track among them.

In the off-season following the first of Lewis Hamilton's potentially numerous Formula 1 World Drivers Championships, Mobil 1 synthetic oil — a longtime sponsor of the McLaren-Mercedes team — brought the Formula 1 phenom over to the United States for a brief promotional visit. A handful of North American journalists were invited to take part in a phone interview with the young British superstar, Road & Track among them. Here are the highlights of that conversation:

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The FIA and Formula 1 teams have agreed to the new cost-cutting measures. Will this make it easier or harder for you to repeat as World Champion?

I don't think it's going to make it easier. Definitely with the new regulations, it's going to be tough. We're working very hard on making sure we approach and enter the season with a fighting chance to win the championship again. My part is to contribute as much as I can to the team, improving on my previous season in terms of less mistakes and those sort of things. We have less testing, but everyone's in the same boat, so who knows when we get to the first Grand Prix who's going to be quick. Surely we're going to be at the front with Ferrari and maybe even BMW. But you never know, maybe a Force India [a team that also uses Mercedes-Benz engines] will be up there with us, so we'll see.

How do you feel about not being able to race in North America at the moment, and are you hoping that someday you'll be able to return so that U.S. and Canadian fans can see you?

Absolutely. I have quite strong feelings for Montreal, maybe because it was always a great race to watch when I was growing up. It was always a historic race, and I had my first Grand Prix win there in 2007, so it's got great memories for me. The two times I've been there, they've always put on a great show. There's always a huge crowd, and the city is alive and kicking. It's really a great place. I hope we can race there again.

Do you think that your dramatic finish in Brazil (the last Grand Prix of 2008) saved last year's F1 season from being remembered solely for off-track problems, such as Honda leaving F1 and Max Mosley's escapades?

I can only say I hope so. It's amazing how many different things happen in a year, but all we particularly think about is how we can continue in the sport and continue to put on a good show and how we can move forward and continue to win as a team. But definitely to end the season on a high and win the championship, you kind of forget about all the other things.

What have you been doing in the off-season?

I've been pretty busy. As soon as I got back from Brazil, taking time out to go and visit the team and thanking them for all the hard work and celebrating with them, I went back to working. Since then I have been on a fitness trip, done a lot of work in the U.K. with Vodafone...although it's been very well managed, it's been pretty full. There's a lot more demand on my time, we've been busy with appearances, and I've been to several awards evenings. I received the World Championship trophy the other day, which is a great moment for me to finally get the trophy and to see my name on such a historic trophy — it's got so many great names on it!